Overshoe for horses.



iatented Sept. 9, I902.

F. SCHNEIDER. OVERSHOE FOR HORSES.

(Application filed Jan. 16, 1902.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK SCHNEIDER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

OVERSHOE FOR HORSES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 708,6 0'8, datedSeptember 9, 1902.

Application filed January 16, 1902. Serial No. 90,018. (No model.)

certain new and useful Improvementsin Over-'- shoes for Horses, &;c., ofwhich the following is a specification sufficient to enable othersskilled in the art to which the invention appertains to make and use thesame.

The object of my invention is to afford a temporary covering for thefeet of a horse to enable the animal to travel safely and surely overslippery surfaces.

My improvements are designed more particularly to afford means whereby ahorse may safely and surely walk upon wet or icy or otherwise slipperysurfaces; and the inven-' tion consists,primarily,in an overshoe consisting of an upper, preferably of leather, and a sole of felt, incont-radistinction to a sole of rubber, leather, or other material whichwill not adhere firmly to a smooth or icy surface, and, secondly, in anovershoe thus formed provided with a metallic stiffener of specialstructure and adapted to serve a twofold function, as hereinafter morefully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a side elevation of myimproved overshoe applied to the foot of a horse. Fig. 2 is a sectionalview ofthe overshoe thus applied, the horses hoof and metal shoe beingindicated by dotted lines. of the overshoe. Fig. 4 is an elevation ofthe side of the overshoe opposite to that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is aview of the under side of the shoe; Fig. 6, an isometrical view of thereinforcing-shield which is incorporated within the overshoe.

The more import-ant feature of my invention resides in forming theovershoe S with a sole B of comparatively thick soft felt for thepurpose of affording a relativelyhigh degree of frictional contact witha smooth, icy,- or slippery surface upon which it may be desired toattain a firm foothold, the coarse, fibrous, soft, and compressiblecharacter of the felt affording a contact-surface which is adhesive andwhich does not wear smooth.

This softsole Bis sewed or otherwise attached Fig. 3 is a top view.

to an upper U, which latter is preferably, though not necessarily, madeof one piece of leather or equivalent flexible material. The upper U ismade with rear flaps u u, which may be opened or spread apart to admitof the application of the overshoe to the hoof. Obviously variouswell-known means may be employed to fasten the shoe to the hoof, ascords, straps, 850. I prefer, however, to use a single strap a, attachedto one side of the upper U and engaging with a suitable buckle c orequivalent mechanical expedient on the other side thereof, asin'dicatedin the drawings, the strap passing under the fetlock of the animal andimmediately above the heel of its metallic shoe wornr In connection withthe flexible upper U and soft non-metallic sole B, I design to use astiffener R, of metal, leather, or other suitable material, for thedouble purpose of reinforcing and sustaining the upper U and ofpreventing the penetration of the sole B by the metallic shoe worn bythe horse.

A preferred form of this stiffener is shown in Fig. 6, consisting of thesole-plate r, united to the upper or too plate 0". This stiffener isformed with a lateral flange, as seen in Figs. 2 and 6, and

through this flange pass the means that secure the sole, stiffener, andupper together.

It will be seen that my improved overshoe is neat in appearance andsimple in construction and application, while affording a sure footholdfor the animal on surfaces that would otherwise afford no hold orpurchase to the usual metallic shoe worn by the animal.

I am aware that overshoes for horses have been proposed in which is useda sole of leather or rubber; but I find by actual test and experimentthat felt is the best and only reliable material thus far available. Theleather sole when wet upon a smooth surface is slippery and unreliable,whereas my soft fibrous surface of felt adheres firmly to a smooth, wet,or icy surface. Furthermore, the frictional resistance of the felt soleon a surface of smooth ice is always sufficient to insure a firmfoothold, whereas a surface of rubber can never be relied upon tomaintain contact with smooth slippery ice unless the surface of therubber is freshly and deeply corrugated and roughened, an expedient thatis only effective for a very short time in actual use, since the rubberquickly Wears smooth and is then more dangerous than the ordinary ironhorseshoe. By my felt I attain another important advantage in that nomatter how great the Wear the surface presented is always of the samecharacter, since the felt cannot Wear smooth and is of the same fibrousconsistency throughout.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An overshoe for horses consisting of an upper of leather shaped tofit the hoof and provided with fastening means, a sole of thick feltflexible material secured to said upper, and a metallic shield andstilfenercomprising a sole-plate and an upper-plate having a lateralflange interposed between the said upper and sole and means passedthrough said flange and sole for securing the parts together, as setforth.

2. An overshoe for horses consisting of a thick sole of felt adapted fordirect contact with the ground, an upper of leather to which said soleis secured, and an interposed reinforcing-stiffener resting upon saidsole and against the front portion of the upper and having a lateralflange with means securing said upper and sole to the flange, saidstiffener serving the double function of reinforcing the upper andsustaining the same and preventing penetration of and injury to the feltsole by the metallic shoe of the animal, as set forth.

FREDERICK SCHNEIDER.

Witnesses:

D. W. GARDNER, F. E. RoAoH.

